Gas-fuelled appliances, such as barbecues, stoves, cookers, cooker tops and the like, typically include a plurality of burners, a tubular manifold or ran through which the gas fuel is supplied to the burners, and a gas valve between the manifold and each of the burners in order to individually regulate the supply of gas to the burners.
These gas valves are generally based on the same basic “plug valve/gas cock” design, which is widely accepted throughout the industry and is the industry standard.
That design comprises a valve body having a tapered cavity with a gas outlet at its base and a gas inlet on the tapered sidewall. A plug of complementary taper is rotatably mounted within the cavity, and includes a gas passage between an outlet in the bottom of the plug and an inlet on the side of the plug. In use, rotation of the plug causes the plug inlet to overlap with the cavity inlet to a greater or lesser extent, and so regulates the flow of gas through the valve. The plug is rotated using an elongate control key that is engagable with the top end of the plug, and the plug and key are retained in place on the valve body by a cap that also seals the cock, the cap being screwed into place on the valve body. A special lubricant is injected between the plug and cavity sidewall to lubricate the plug movement and also to act as a seal.
The present invention aims to provide an alternative gas control valve to the current standard valve, which, in its various asps and embodiments, may provide a number of advantages.